|
Area 4 Committee Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Teleconference – 1 p.m. Central Time
Designated Federal Official
- Martin, Betty - Nashville, TN - LTA
Committee Members Present
- Adams-Dodds, Carolyn - Detroit, MI - Member
- Blanchard, Greg - Cordova, TN - Member
- Bryant, Patricia - Millington, TN - Member
- Buschmann, Ray - Lake Forest, IL - Member
- Kennedy, Jeff - Louisville, KY - Vice Chair
- Khan, Anne - Chicago, IL - Member
- Martyniuk, Lev - Cincinnati, OH - Member
- Meister, David - Franklin, WI - Member
- Melchior, Jerome - Vincennes, IN - Member
- Monnier, David - Indianapolis, IN - Member
- Mull, Bob - Ann Arbor, MI - Member
- Spiotto, Ann - Lincolnwood, IL - Member
- Taylor, Rita - Cincinnati, OH - Member
- Verwiel, John - Cottage Grove, WI - Member
- Wernz, Stanley - Cincinnati, OH - Chair
- Wingard, Kelly - Decatur, IL - Member
Committee Members Absent
- Hurr, Joe - Dayton, OH - Member
TAP Staff
- Roy Block - Milwaukee, WI - TAP Manager
- Patti Robb - Milwaukee, WI - Program Analyst
- Lisa Gabriel - Milwaukee, WI - Secretary
- Mary Ann Delzer - Milwaukee - Program Analyst
Welcome / Roll Call / Review Agenda-Stan Wernz
Wernz welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were no changes to the agenda. Quorum met.
Meet the new Boss: Roy Block
Roy Block was the State Coordinator for VITA and TCE in the Milwaukee area; he was part of the audit team looking at money laundering; and, was most recently with Stakeholder Liaison. He has worked extensively with practitioners. He is very impressed with what TAP has accomplished and is continuing to do.
Area 4 Chair Report – Wernz
See Area 4 Chair Report. There were no questions about the report submitted.
- 1099 C, Forgiveness of Debt (#4784)
Ken Wright, Area 5 Chair, did an extensive report on forgiveness of debt at the Joint Committee meeting and is pursuing this issue with Nina Olson’s support. Wright has asked for assistance; Lev Martyniuk volunteered. Contact Wright is you are also interested in participating with this committee.
- # 05-020 – Issue Statement: Not all current tax forms and instructions are available at IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs). This recommendation was elevated to the IRS some time ago. They disagreed with our position that they should make all forms available in the walk in offices. We did not want to accept this and decided to pursue this further. On June 28, 2008, we received another response from the IRS that they reconsidered and will make all forms available to taxpayers.
Public Input
None
Issue Discussion
- Collection Financial Statements, #4760, Dollar Amount for Liens, #4761 - Meister
There will be a call with the Subject Matter Expert (SME), Greg Ricketts, TAS Technical Liaison (Collection) the week of August 11.
- Unclaimed TETR # 4649- John Verwiel
There is not much to report right now. Delzer provided the information for tax year 2006, as of October, 2007. She will research if updated information is now available. This has been under-claimed for two years now. We need to determine if extending the time to claim is legislative. Bryant thinks part of the problem is with taxpayers who don’t normally file tax returns. She thinks the IRS is making a concerted effort to work this issue. They are looking at having Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) volunteers to go out to visit people who cannot get out to do their return. Some Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) sites have been contacted and asked to reopen to address this issue. The word is out there but it is going to take time. Block said he would ask practitioners what they were doing to address this issue. He asked Delzer if there were any public service announcements available to address this issue. She responded that right now publicity is aimed at unclaimed EITC. Kelly Wingard said she would take this back to the Communications Committee to consider.
ACTION: Delzer to research tax year 2006 TETR claims.
- ID Theft, #4210 - Suspension or Return Processing – Blanchard
The subcommittee has not had any progress this past month. Delzer said she hopes to have a SME identified soon.
- Mandatory Filing Form 944, # 4771 – Bob Mull
The subcommittee met and considered the problem statement, with the taxpayer suggesting he could not do a form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. Our primary option is to clarify language on the SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number. Monnier asked Delzer to find out how many people use Form 944, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return . This issue will have to go through Bob Erickson, Forms and Publications.
ACTION: Delzer will find out how many people use Form 944.
- Form 1041, Schedule G # 4707– Jeff Kennedy
Khan’s research showed that only about 22,000 of Form 1041s that required a Schedule G were filed last year, and we estimated a vast majority of those were done by professionals since they deal with high-value estates and trusts. The number of taxpayers that this affects is extremely minimal. The subcommittee recommends the issue be dropped. Consensus to drop the issue.
- Capital Gains Processing Errors, # 4340 – Kennedy
Delzer’s research found this was a paper filing error; not an e-file error. Kennedy will look at this issue further and write something up for the August meeting.
- Notices and Refund Checks, #4770 – Rita Taylor
We need some research on how big a problem this actually is. A taxpayer’s refund is issued in the wrong amount with no explanation as to why the refund is different; they cash the refund check and then the IRS goes back to the taxpayer to get the excess refund amount. Frequently the taxpayer is unable to repay the amount owed. The notices sent out are vague and come out quite a bit later than the check. We want to suggest the notice be sent out before the check is issued so the taxpayer is aware there may be a problem. The wording needs to be clearer too.
ACTION: Taylor to email Delzer what additional research is needed regarding Notices and Refund Checks.
New Issue Review – Pat Bryant
One new issue this month, #4901concerns offsets of federal tax refunds to pay delinquent child support. This is not an IRS issue, but a legislative issue. Consensus to drop.
ACTION Item Review - Delzer
All Action Items completed.
Office Report – Block
The annual meeting is scheduled for December 1-5, 2008, in Arlington, VA.
Recruitment is moving along as scheduled. The list will be going to Nina Olson for approval very soon.
All TAP staff will be out of the office the week of July 28 for their annual training symposium. They will be back in the office on August 4.
Regina White, Michigan, has resigned from TAP as she took a new position.
Closing/Assessment
A meeting satisfaction survey will be sent to you for completion. Please return to
Jeff Kennedy.
Meeting adjourned
Next meeting is August 19, 2008 |
Graphic Version